Japanese politician comes out
A member of Japan's Osaka Prefectural Assembly came out as a lesbian Aug. 13 at Tokyo's gay pride parade.
'Homosexual people have often kept silent for fear of discrimination and prejudice,' Kanako Otsuji, 30, told reporters the day before the march. 'By declaring I'm homosexual, I would like to highlight the problems and put an end to a vicious circle of discrimination and prejudice.'
Otsuji also said she has written an autobiography called 'Coming Out: A Journey for Finding Your True Self.'
Osaka prefecture has a population of 8.84 million and is second in size only to Tokyo's prefecture. Otsuji was elected to the assembly in April 2003.
1,000 protest for
marriage in Australia
More than 1,000 gays and lesbians protested in Australia Aug. 13 on the first anniversary of the nation's ban on same-sex marriage, the Brisbane Courier-Mail reported.
In Sydney, about 600 people marched from the gay neighborhood to Hyde Park for a rally there. In Melbourne, 400 people marched from the Town Hall to Federation Square.
'Our families contribute to the nation like every other family, yet they are still being denied the right to marry or the ability to form federal de facto relationships,' activist Luke Gahan of Australian Marriage Equality told the Courier-Mail.
Singapore gays respond to government suppression
Inspired partly by the government's refusal to permit the annual Nation party, as well as by other antigay slights, activists in Singapore are in the midst of a monthlong series of events under the umbrella title IndigNation.
'IndigNation is a gay community response to the unreasonable ban on parties for gays and lesbians and heavy censorship of publications serving this community,' said the organization People Like Us. 'It is a demonstration of the initiative and spirit of grass-roots civil society that the authorities say they want to encourage, but then go out of their way to suppress.'
The events include art exhibits, lectures, a poetry night, theater, educational forums and an AlieNation dance party at the Coccolatte club.
Police banned this year's Nation circuit party after allowing it the previous four years. They said it is 'contrary to public interest in general.'
The party, which is organized by Fridae.com, has been moved to Phuket, Thailand, where it is scheduled for Nov. 4-6, and is sponsored by Motorola and Subaru.
Eight thousand people attended last year's party, 40 percent of them from overseas. They pumped an estimated $6 million into the Singaporean economy.
